Ever wonder how the leaders of the Infocomm industry got where they are today? Watch this space and hear from the luminaries themselves what inspired them to join the Infocomm industry and what inspired them to join the Infocomm industry and what continues to drive them to excel.

Koo Seng Meng

Deputy Director (Strategic Alliances), AI Singapore

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a thing of the now, and the rate of change and developments in the domain reaf rms that.

Koo Sengmeng, Deputy Director of Strategic Alliances, AI Singapore, sheds light on how beyond changing the way we live, work and play; AI has the potential to propel the continued growth of our economy.

Did AI only come about in the recent years?

Certainly not. If you think about the recommendation engines from the likes of Amazon, Google and Baidu? Or your email spam detector? And more recently, phone personal assistants like Siri and Google Now. Many of them have been around for a while now – and even become features that we rely on.

Why is there increasing interest in AI in the recent years?

Affordable computing power such as Graphic Processing Unit (GPU), coupled with the development of cloud-based machine learning platforms by major tech companies – Alibaba Cloud Aliyun, Microsoft Azure Machine Learning Studio and Google Cloud – means that individuals and businesses can easily host and run Al projects that use machine learning techniques.

AI will not be able to take off successfully without data. Data is necessary to fuel the advancement of the AI engine.

Vladyslav Koshelyev

Member, “The IT Society” Editorial Committee

Just because AI could develop abilities beyond that of humankind, it doesn’t mean we would be supplanted. Instead, people and AI will become partners to create a better world together.

Vladyslav Koshelyev shares with The IT Society why as far as he is concerned the rise of AI is more exciting than worrisome.

What has inspired your interest in AI?

As a teenager, I was an avid reader of Ray Kurzweil’s books and was deeply intrigued by his theories about the future of humankind and technology.

Can you share some AI developments that you are excited about?

Sure. I am very excited about AI starting to help creative professionals. In a recent experiment, the advertising agency McCann Japan used its AI software to analyse a brief and successfully create a new campaign. While the project didn’t win any award, we should remember that digital technologies develop exponentially and will progress ever faster.

So are you looking forward to working alongside AI?

I very much do. Although I should note, this doesn’t mean my work will become easier. It’s actually the opposite. When I rst started working in the digital media industry, my job was much simpler.

Wondering what is the next wave of changes or breakthroughs in the ever-dynamic Infocomm industry. Get the first-hand insights and knowledge from leading companies and thought leaders and stay ahead!

People often associate robots with human-like androids featured in science fiction movies of the 70s, such as Star Wars. While these sci-fi fantasies have now become realities for businesses adopting Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

RPA utilises software with artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities that can handle high volumes of repeatable tasks.

RPA AS A PRODUCTIVITY BOOSTER

Singtel’s Group Enterprise business unit implemented RPA in late 2016 to process emails at our Technical Centre, which receives an average of 750 emails from telecommunications companies around the world to inform Singtel of their network maintenance requirements. Today, RPA automatically processes 80% of these emails every month, allowing Singtel to reduce the number of staff required to monitor such emails from five to two.

RPA AS A STANDARD-BEARER FOR QUALITY

Beyond productivity, the adoption of automation has also greatly increased data authenticity and accuracy. Before the days of automation, workers across the value chain have to call and email one another to verify data accuracy. Now, with automation, the accuracy of the data is verified at the time when it was first recorded into the system.

Take a look at the advancement of research in artificial intelligence (AI) before and after the turn of the millennium, and you will see that research focus has undergone a huge shift from optimisation and search algorithms, expert systems, data mining, artificial neural networks, statistics, and probability during the 1980s and 1990s to machine learning, perception and cognition, automated driving, robots, intelligent personal assistant, and predictive and prescriptive analytics today.

THE CORNERSTONES OF OUR PORT OPERATIONS TODAY

Like many other industries, AI is exerting an increasing in uence on PSA’s port business operations.

THE USE OF AI IN OUR PORT OPERATIONS TODAY

Notably, three major decisions need to be made during a discharging operation, namely selecting which prime mover will transport the container from the quay crane to the yard, identifying which storage yard to send the prime mover (together with the container) to, and assigning a yard crane to serve the prime mover when it arrives at the yard.

THE FUTURE OF AI IN OUR PORT OPERATIONS

Forging ahead, as PSA prepares to move all container terminal operations to the Tuas terminal, it is foreseeable that AI will play a more pivotal role in fuelling the fully automated terminal.

Engage your contemporaries on the newest developments! Listen to industry stalwarts and leading technical experts and get first-hand insights and knowledge of the next trending scene in the ever-dynamic Infocomm industry.

Your Next Teammate Could be an AI!

Everyone is talking about artificiaI intelligence (AI) these days. As much as it holds the promise to be the next big thing, many people are just as skeptical about its perceived power to truly improve our lives.

For me, after my first real encounter with AI a few months ago, my curiosity is piqued to learn more about it.

A COMPETENT PERSONAL ASSISTANT

Following a telephone discussion with Adam Low, Chairman of e-commerce company Y Ventures, I sent an email to request for a follow up meeting on 5 May at 3pm. Adam replied, “Evie, arrange for meeting in of ce at 3pm.” I thought Adam had requested for his Personal Assistant (PA) to schedule the meeting with me. Nothing unusual. Within minutes, an email from Evie con rmed the meeting. Something struck me about Evie’s email address. Adam’s PA was an AI software!

A VALUABLE TEAM MEMBER

In another business setting, I had the opportunity to witness how analysts are making use of AI support tools to analyse threats at a Cyber Security Operations Centre.

AN INDISPENSABLE PARTNER

With the advancement and widespread deployment of AI-based intelligent systems, it is inevitable for job scopes across every industry sector to undergo transformation. “The next generation of IT professionals cannot not be satis ed merely working alongside AI,” said Professor Steven Miller, Vice Provost (Research) at Singapore Management University.

Looking for a marketplace spotlighting the best student IT projects and potential networks to link up with investors? Here could be the next virtual Silicon Valley transforming breakthrough ideas into useful products or services.

Time to get your innovation engine started!

Splash Awards Winners Rise Up to the Drone Challenge

The SCS Splash Awards 2017 is back with its 14th edition. This year, in conjunction with the celebration of the SCS 50th Anniversary finale event, the competition was aptly themed “Drone Challenge”.

All in the spirit of creativity, leveling up tech savviness and honing problem-solving skills, this agship event – one of the longest running student infocomm competitions in Singapore – attracted close to 300 student participants from local and international Institutes of Higher Learning, Institutes of Technical Education, Junior Colleges and Secondary Schools.

In this instalment, the competition provided an opportunity for students to dabble in new technology using codable drones.

Missed an event? View the highlights of the events here and be sure to join us at the next upcoming event!

High-octane Bash at SCS 50 Drone Experience

On 28 October, SCS 50 Drone Experience – the finale of SCS 50th Anniversary celebrations and the anchor event for the Lifelong Learning Festival 2017 – brought together people of all ages for a day of carnival fun.

For visitors who were keen to try their hands at navigating drones, they could y Airblock drones through different obstacle courses, use micro drones to complete speci c tasks at three different game stations and steer hovercrafts on an imposing racing track.

The Splash Awards 2017, which saw 12 nalist teams pitting against one another in a Drone Challenge also drew much crowd support. There were also various interesting exhibition showcases and free talks and seminars taking place concurrently at the Devan Nair Institute of Employment and Employability.